“Hamilton County has Cross County Highway, named after President Reagan who is a Republican, and I thought it might be nice to have a balance,” Kearney said.

Norwood’s mayor doesn’t like the idea of calling Ohio 562 anything other than the Norwood Lateral, but if it has to change, he has an idea: Why not name it after Carl Lindner?

Lindner started United Dairy Farmers in Norwood, lived in Norwood and grew to become one of the country’s wealthiest men. He was a philanthropist who gave back to Norwood and to causes all across our region.

Mayor Tom Williams says he never had to ask Lindner for a thing, because he was always calling up asking what he could do to help. When Lindner died in 2011, people lined the streets of Norwood in front of the UDF Headquarters to show their respect.

“Look what he did for this community,” Williams said, “He did it because he truly cared and he truly loved this city.”

Williams said his opposition to renaming the Lateral for President Obama is not a political move, he just feels it’s not the right decision to rename OH-562 for a sitting president.

Kearney said it’s common practice to name things after people who currently hold political office.

As for the proposal to rename the Lateral for Lindner, Kearney had another proposal – why not rename Montgomery Road for him instead? Because Montgomery is also a state route, it would be within the legislature’s power.

Kearney said he’s willing to work with Williams to make it happen.

Kearney says within the first 24 hours after making the proposal, he’s gotten about a thousand emails, with opinions very strong on both sides. Even with the state legislature being majority Republican, Kearney said he doesn’t think the idea is dead on arrival in Columbus.

He said that when lawmakers come back in a lame duck session after Election Day, anything could happen.